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CAT leader: Transportation funding may not be enough

(Harrisburg) -- The head of one of the midstate's public transportation authorities says Governor Corbett's $2 billion transportation funding proposal is a "courageous" step -- but it may not be enough to keep the system from cutting services.

Capital Area Transit General Manager William Jones says buses in its Cumberland and Dauphin county service area are steadily seeing more riders.

He says stagnant funding from the Public Transportation Trust Fund as well as rising fuel and worker costs could force cutbacks when midstate commuters can least afford them.

"What would this region look like with 5,000 extra cars," Jones asked lawmakers at a House Appropriations Committee hearing. "You drive this region at peak and it's not an easy commute around here. Our transportation network is pushed to the max. We're at capacity, if not beyond, at many times."

Jones says some 60 percent of CAT's daily ridership consists of government employees traveling to and from downtown Harrisburg.

He also says the bus system is key for minority and low-income populations.

A PennDOT study shows merging CAT and transit systems in Lancaster, Lebanon, Adams and York counties could save millions of dollars.